Does divorce take effect merely by a man telling someone that he has divorced his wife, or that he will divorce her, while a third revocable divorce still remains?

A man's statement that he has divorced his wife can imply one of two things: either initiating a new divorce, which is unequivocally valid, or reporting a previous divorce, about the validity of which scholars differ. As for a man's statement that he will divorce his wife, it is merely a promise, and no divorce occurs until it is executed.